Rhodesian Air Force
No 4 Squadron C.O.s

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The History of the Squadron Commanders of No 4 Squadron

By Peter Petter Bowyer
(The father of the Rhodesian Air Force's Aerial Recconnaissance and weapons inventor extraordinaire
And the longest serving OC 4 Sqn of all time.)

1. 4 Squadron came into being at New Sarum after the Provosts arrived - dates unknown to me though I think Squadron Leader Doug Whyte was its first OC.

2. The squadron moved to Thornhill at the beginning of 1956 for the first SSU course to be trained there. That was 9 SSU. Whereas Doug Whyte remained OC 4 Squadron he was also the Station's first CO. Because of this, Flt.Lt. Ken Edwards acted for him.

3. When 10 SSU (my course) was undergoing training, CO Thornhill and acting OC 4 Squadron remained unchanged until Wg.Cdr. Archie Wilson took over as CO Thornhill in June 1957. That is when Flt Lt. Ken Edwards became OC 4 Squadron but was not promoted because the Squadron Leader posts for those times were full.

4. 10 SSU should have started the jet conversion phase at the beginning of 1958 but, because 1 Squadron was still in Aden on its first detachment there, 10 SSU was given and extension of training on Provosts. It was during this extended training period that an unfortunate formation accident forced Mike Saunders and Bill Galloway to abandon the stricken aircraft following collision with that of Alan Bradnick and Gordon Wright. This led to Ken Edwards being blamed for the incident and led to his controversial removal from command.

5. When it was that Ken actually left 4 Squadron I cannot remember but I do know he led the squadron on its posting back to New Sarum and during the Nyasaland Emergency. (See 1959 photo in the 4 Sqn Photo Gallery).

6. There were four Squadron Leaders between Ken Edwards and Bill Jelley (as given in your rogues gallery). They were Bill Dawson, Ozzie Penton, John Mussell and Ken Edwards again.

7. In March 1963 I was posted to 4 Squadron as a corrective instructor. This arose from the RAF trapper team insisting that 4 Squadron's flying standards were poor and in need of attention. Squadron Leader Ozzie Penton was OC at the time and remained so until 31 December 1963.

8. In January 1964, the squadron was taken over by Squadron Leader John Mussell and moved to Thornhill. (At the same time, 5 and 6 Squadrons were amalgamated into one single Canberra squadron which moved to New Sarum. Other changes were the move of RRAF Group HQ from New Sarum to Dolphin House where it became RRAF Air Headquarters. New Sarum was then given its first CO (John Deall??) and OC Flying Wing. OC Flying Wing was also established at Thornhill under Wg.Cdr. Sandy Mutch.)

9. John Mussell handed over to Ken Edwards at the end of September 1964. Did Ken then hand over to Bill Jelley in November 1966? Je ne sais pas!

10. I went to Staff College in 1971. Apparently this caused a bit of a problem because the Air Staff decided, too late I was told, that I should have taken over 4 Squadron to prepare its pilots for visual reconnaissance work. So Peter Knoble followed by Gordon Wright served as acting OCs pending my posting to the squadron in January 1972. I did three years as OC 4 Sqn.

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